Our love resembles the uncertainty

of a sleeping cat, always magical,

somehow aware

and giving.

“gay monogamy uk london geek”. Yes, that’s how you, web user, found my little blog. Hope you found some of that very specific mix of information.

I’m sorry for not keeping you updated with some really big recent Duffboy News: I’m getting married in just about a month from now! We won’t do the big event thing, no religious ceremony, and almost no friends at the civil ceremony. Times are tough, financial wise, so we just decided to skip our rockin wedding idea (we’ll maybe save some of those elements for the photo shoot, weeks later), and keep it simple. Am I stressed? A little bit. Does the warm feeling of finally becoming husband & wife outweight the prewedding jitters? You bet your ass it does! Romi should be proud

He was a harcore drug user. That’s what he’s stated to me in different occassions. Additional strange behavior from Parking Lot Dude include:

• Asking me to feel the remains of past accidents in his skull and arms
• Actually taking my hand to feel the remains of past accidents in his skull and arms
• Trying to borrow money from me
• Obsessively asking me “which energy drink is the best”, then moving on to memory lane, and how his body had developed a high tolerance for substances, including the anesthesia necessary to take him out when he was in a bloody accident/fight
• Very politely asking me to treat him to a can of Sobe Adrenaline energy drink, on 9 different opportunities

But, truth be told, if I ever changed parking lots (or if there were other parking lots available near my work place – there aren’t any) I’d miss a lot of his quirks/drug nostalgia. I said most you know…

I’m getting prepared for my third public reading/presentation in 2 weeks. I can’t say that I’m looking forward to it. Tonight, I’d much rather stay indoors and avert melancholic themes, at least in writing.

Sunrise from the second floor of what I call home

It’s easy to feel as

survivors from the bail-out no shows

to withstand our economic downfalls,

through romantic/shut-in mode.

You and me, making low budget weekend love.

He arrived safe at home, “but a close call like that can’t be ignored”, he thought. He pet his cats, called her, and fell asleep as always on the living room couch.

(a poem based upon a personal experience, a few scary weeks with late night narcolepsy behind the wheel)

It’s finally here: the day in which I’ll be able to share publically (aside from the web), my thoughts regarding A Puerta Cerrada, my first novella. In case you’re in Guatemala City, we’ll talk about the book this wednesday night (tomorrow) at Sophos bookstore, say 6:30ish.

A few weeks ago, Duffgirl and I had a great veggie lunch/tweetup with, for the most part, people we didn’t know in person (though the Twitter communication, does feel “real”). Among them, Kosher Girl (a fellow guatemalan who visited the country, from the US, and shared our love for veggie cuisine; and Jeanfer. You might remember him from past Duffboy posts such as “You tweet, you piss off the wrong people, you get arrested“. Months after he was front page news, one tends to forget the enjoyable, daily advantages of just going out to meet new friends, and having lunch outside, without the actual pressure of facing jail time. Hanging out with him, with my sweetie, with new and old friends (including our friend Sue, the director of AMA, a non-profit organization that cares for animals), was a great day to spread the veggie love, and enjoy some Twitter/Farmville banter (oh yes: I too have been bitten by the Farmville bug!).

I just finished reading an article by Dan Silverstein, Criminally Negligent Homicide: The Legacy of Wealthy Nations That Allow Millions to Die and now… I understand a little better how the corrupted powers that be sleep (or don’t) at night.

This is what I’m talking about:

Ethiopians die of thirst literally on the banks of the Blue Nile River whose headwaters are in their country. But, they can’t touch it because Egypt, where the Nile River ends, won’t allow anyone to interfere with its water flow. The American government, needing every friend it can find in the Middle East, supports Egypt’s refusal to allow a life saving dam on Ethiopian land, and is willing to sacrifice millions of Ethiopians if necessary.

Ugly Americans
And then there is Ghost of Christmas Past, former Arkansas Senator Dale Bumpers, whose 1986 legislative gift keeps on giving. Bumpers authored an amendment making it illegal to provide agricultural assistance if there is even a remote possibility of another country competing against American agribusiness. It ignores the benefits that could accrue to both sides if the US was more expansive in its generosity with technical information.

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dan-silverstein/criminally-negligent-homi_b_301940.html

And Guatemala is not that far off, from our neighbors upstairs: our agricultural system is set up for failure, and most of the rural population relies on good old mother nature. You can imagine the level of disappointment that mom can provide, not to mention the fact that every 3 years or so, government officials face their own inability to properly sustain real economic development for rural communities. Food is not the problem, it’s not even cashflow: it’s lack of accountability. There, I said it.

It’s not a matter of class, either: both the rich, the middleclass and the small entrepreneurs all have the same opportunity to create and share wealth. Yet, somehow… some pockets are just more full than others. Anyways… let’s get those truck loads of food moving for now.